Those weapons are slashing weapons. If you have slashing grace you can treat whichever of them you have weapon focus in as piercing weapons for things like swashbuckler finesse, which means that you can use dexterity instead of strength to attack with them. Is that what you're asking?
Also the obvious - DR bypassed by slashing (e.g. zombies) is more common than DR bypassed by piercing. But mostly Cavall's point, scimitars especially have a lot of options available. To a lesser extent that's true of Aldori duelling swords, daggers (which can't get dex to damage another way), and even glaives, see the bladed brush feat. The temple sword is about the best monk weapon which can get dex to damage.
It's also about giving any class that needs it Dex to Damage. Besides, Swashbuckler's Finesse just give you Weapon Finesse for piercing weapons. You don't get Dex to Damage with it. Even with a rapier, you would still need the Fencing Grace feat to get that. Slashing Grace simply allows a Swashbuckler more options for weapons. Whether you want to use it or not is up to you.
Swashbucklers get weapon finesse via swashbuckler's finesse. They don't need to spend a feat. It doesn't apply to a longsword or whatever until they get slashing grace, but as a human you could get weapon focus (some slashing weapon) and slashing grace at level 1. You don't have to sacrifice any feats if you'd have been going for fencing grace otherwise anyway, the cost is the same. That said there's nothing wrong with using a rapier on a swashbuckler.
Spring attack is thematic and not particularly good in most situations for a swashbuckler. The class is sold as being about mobility but gains little advantage from being mobile. Annoying, eh?
If you're a major part of the front line in your group then you may want combat reflexes both for extra potential parries in a tight spot and to take more attacks of opportunity. It can lead on to other feats like swordplay style or bodyguard later on if you wish. If there are 2-3 other people on the front line that's not so necessary.
Extra panache is a useful feat especially if you have 14 or lower charisma, and you might want combat expertise, dirty fighting or power attack if you want to indulge in combat maneuvers.
A swashbuckler has the parry instead of heavy armor, and uses a rapier or similar to slightly less but still comparable damage to a two-handed weapon. Since they generally wear light armor they're more able to use acrobatics or other skills affected by an armor check penalty - this is the limit of their mobility encouragement. They're encouraged by panache (and occasionally charmed life) to have some charisma. Despite all this they play very like fighters; toe-to-toe exchange of full attacks is normal.
A mobile fighter which can stand solid might be a magus, since bladed dash w/spell combat is a mobile full attack, or shocking grasp is nearly as effective on one attack as a full attack. Or something like a character aiming for reach via great size, where repositioning to stay out or the enemies reach while keeping the enemy within yours is the name of the game. This is one of the situations where vital strike builds are excusable. Goliath druids and aberrant bloodragers are good at this. Swashbuckler 1 as a dip on a mobile rogue (or on an alchemist w/vivisectionist or grenadier archetype, or on an investigator; I've seen the last and it works) for the parry to give them a chance against full melee types could also work.
The swashbuckler can do much of what the fighter does. While they do not have heavy armor they usually have significantly higher DEX so their AC is still good enough for the frontline. If they pick up combat expertise (to qualify for disarm) their AC will probably match or exceed a fighters. If you are starting at 1st level the swashbuckler will probably have a higher AC because the fighter cannot afford heavy armor to start with.
The big advantage a swashbuckler has over a fighter is they actually have skills. Not only do they get more skill points, they also have more useful class skills. Due to a swashbuckler needing CHA they actually do social skills very well. Your typical fighter dumps CHA and rarely invests his few points in social skills.
The swashbuckler also uses a specific combat style. The fighter because of his feats is able to be built to use any combat style. The swashbuckler’s class abilities are geared to this combat style making him slightly better that a fighter using the same style. A fighter could use his feats to get a similar character but would lack some of the combat abilities (but would have different ones). What the fighter would lack would be the out of combat utility of the swashbuckler.
The combat style of the swashbuckler is lightly armored single weapon fighting. Other combat styles would be two handed weapon, two weapon, weapon and shield, reach weapon, archery, unarmed combat just to name a few.
The most popular combat style especially for high STR characters is two handed weapon. The amount of damage a high STR fighter can do using a two handed weapon with the proper feats is incredible. When he gets a critical hit he will do a lot more damage than the swashbuckler. While the swashbuckler will probably get more critical hits much of his bonus damage is precision damage which is not multiplied on a critical hit.
While you may have similar AC to a character wearing heavy armor much of your AC comes from DEX and dodge bonuses. This means you will have a much better touch AC, but a bad flat footed AC. So if you are surprised you will be a lot more likely to get hit. On the other hand if you are fighting against something that targets touch AC you are much better off. So vs a incorporeal undead you will do a lot better than the low DEX fighter in full plate.
Different fighting styles can be confusing, but they do a have a real impact on the game. To a begining player some of the nuances may not be apparent.
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Bladed dash allows one attack on its own. Spell combat allows you to make a full attack (at -2, with a one-handed or light melee weapon) before or after casting a spell. Bladed dash + spell combat gives you a full attack, plus one attack, either before or after moving 30' without provoking attacks of opportunity. Well, technically you could make the one extra attack somewhere along the way.
Spring attack gives you one attack only in the middle of a move action, that also doesn't provoke AoOs. At best it's half as good.
Panache runs out but it also recovers on crits and on kills. It's not reliable but the swashbuckler 1 / investigator 9 in the game I'm currently running does find the parry very useful.
Inspired Blade 1, Magus X gets int+cha to the panache pool, plus a magus arcana to give him parry and riposte from his magus pool as well, plus bladed dash.
Combat Expertise allows you to get improved disarm, and latter disarming strike. Add in agile maneuvers and you end up with a very effective swordsman. He has a good chance of disarming his opponent without having to waste an attack on disarming. Considering the swashbuckler will have a threat range of 15-20 that means that 25% of your attacks have a chance of disarming your opponent.
Max out intimidate instead of bluff. Swashbucklers get menacing sword play so you can use a swift action to intimidate in combat. If you have disarming strike at 9th level you can attack someone and demoralize and disarm them and still have more attacks left.
Combat Expertise allows you to get improved disarm, and latter disarming strike. Add in agile maneuvers and you end up with a very effective swordsman. He has a good chance of disarming his opponent without having to waste an attack on disarming. Considering the swashbuckler will have a threat range of 15-20 that means that 25% of your attacks have a chance of disarming your opponent.
30% chance.
If you're going to go with the Inspired Blade archetype, you don't need to take Weapon Focus as a feat, it just gives it to you. So as a human, you can take Fencing Grace and still have a level one feat. But you lose the ability to regain Panache from a killing blow, so get Keen for your rapier as soon as possible. And you don't need Agile Maneuvers, either. The rules state that if you have Weapon Finesse, then you already use your Dex for Disarm and Trip attempts when using your rapier to do so. You only need Agile Maneuvers for Grapple, Bull Rush, etc.
If you're going to go with the Inspired Blade archetype, you don't need to take Weapon Focus as a feat, it just gives it to you. So as a human, you can take Fencing Grace and still have a level one feat. But you lose the ability to regain Panache from a killing blow, so get Keen for your rapier as soon as possible. And you don't need Agile Maneuvers, either. The rules state that if you have Weapon Finesse, then you already use your Dex for Disarm and Trip attempts when using your rapier to do so. You only need Agile Maneuvers for Grapple, Bull Rush, etc.
Inspired Blades get improved critical at 5th anyway, so I'd not bother with Keen.
Ah, so it does. Too bad they don't stack.
You can also buy a Plume of Panache. It uses the Head Slot, costs 1000 gold, and gives you one extra point of panache a day.
That means the price goes up determined by how much enhancement your weapon already has. Since a magic property can't be added until it already has at least +1, the price of the property is at least the same as a +2 enhancement. And so on up. I'm not sure if other properties factor into cost though, so you might want to ask in the Rules Forum or something.
A lot of people like to stack Inspired Blade with the Noble Fencer archetype.
A +1 base enhancement is 2000 gold if it's the first time you are enhancing your weapon. Each additional +1 or property goes up in price according to the table that you can find here: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons#TOC-Weapons
(I don't remember how to make the link clickable and the little box that shows you how isn't opening for me.)
Examples:
You have a +1 Rapier. You want to make it +2. That's priced at 8000 gold. But you subtract the 2000 of the +1 you already have for a total price of 6000.
You have a +1 Rapier. You want to add the Shock Property. That's a +1 bonus in price. That means you price it the same as a +2 base enhancement, which is 8000, subtracting the 2000 of the +1 you already have for a total price of 6000.
You have a +1 Rapier. You want to add the Flaming Burst Property. That's a +2 bonus. That means you price it the same as a +3 base enhancement which is 18000, subtracting the 2000 of the +1 you already have for a total price of 16000.
And so on, and so on.